Citibank has added an on-screen keyboard to its Internet banking service in the UK in a bid to protect customers against fraudsters that use key-logging programs to steal bank account details and passwords.
The keyboard appears on screen when customers are asked to enter passwords or answers to security questions.
The bank says allowing customers to use a mouse reduces the the likelihood of personal details being stolen by fraudsters using key-logging software.
On its Web site Citibank UK says its experts reviewed a number of ways of increasing security for online customers and, together with the bank's technology and customer services teams, recommended a user name and password log-in along with the introduction of the screen keyboard.
Research released by The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) last year showed that Citibank was one of the financial firms most targeted by online fraudsters.
Last year customers at South Africa's Absa Bank were duped by a key-logging scam. This prompted neighbouring Standard Bank to distribute free virus protection software to customers and introduce a virtual PIN pad log-in system to counteract the threat from spyware.